Primary: Welcome to Seesaw

We’ve used paper portfolios for more than 10 years in the Primary Division.

They’ve served as a tool to illustrate student growth over time through goal-setting, work samples and reflection. Teachers and students both choose pieces of work they want in the portfolio to show this learning journey. We expect there to be variation in the content of individual student portfolios, but aim to showcase your son’s learning journey in each.

Over this same period of time, the world has changed a surprising amount. Many of us now have access to smartphones that provide us with up-to-the-minute information about myriad topics. Last year we tested digital portfolio tools in each grade that take advantage of this easy communication.

As a result of our testing, we’ve decided to fully commit to digital portfolios from SK to Year 5 this year using Seesaw. Seesaw is a tool that that gives your child creative tools to capture and reflect on his learning of skills, concepts and knowledge. Seesaw also makes this journey easily available for you to view in real time. As I introduced this tool to boys in their classrooms, they were excited to know that you would be able to become a more regular participant in the great things our teachers do in their classrooms.

You should have already received a message from your child’s teacher about how to connect to your son’s Seesaw learning journal. Thank you to all who’ve already connected. To date, we’ve had more than 1,100 parent visits to the boys’ learning journals. If you haven’t already done so, please download Seesaw’s Parent application for iOS or Android to your mobile device or go to the seesaw.me website. You’ll need to sign in using the instructions provided by your son’s teacher.

With your help, we can continue build our school community of lifelong learners. Once you’re connected to your son’s learning journal, you’ll have a window into his classroom and his learning processes. Here are our Seesaw tips:

Check Seesaw regularly. You’ll get notifications about new entries in your child’s journal and can respond to their work. Customize your notification preferences in Account Settings.

Celebrate your child’s successes. Help to encourage the skills your child is working on in class. Specific comments are best. Asking questions or complementing specific details can add to the learning conversation.

Be aware that in a group or “everyone” post, your comment is visible to everyone tagged. That includes the students and their parents. This is a great opportunity to lift up the whole group or class.

We’re excited to share our classroom learning with you. If you have any questions about Seesaw, please contact your son’s teacher or me.